Bottle-washing machine.



. j W w W 4, 5 m l W M m fi W03 G. H LOEW & H G MILLER. BOTTLE WASHINGMACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. so, 1903.

and 3 at its ends.

IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. LOEW AND HENRY G. MILLER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TOTHE LOEW SUPPLY & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,- ACORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9,1906.

Application filed November 30, 1903. Serial N0n 183,106.

which we have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguishit from other inventions.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detailone mechanical form embodying the invention, such detail constructionbeing but one of variousmechanical forms in which the principle of theinvention may be used.

In said annexed drawings, Figure I represents a longitudinal section ofthe improved bottle-washing machine; Fig. II, an enlarged transversesection on the line II II in Figs. I and III; and Fig. III a top planview of a portion of the bottle-conveyer and its track.

The machine has a tank 1 for the soaking solution and formed with curvedguides 2 At one end of the soakingtank is formed a rinsing-tank 4, intowhich the bottles are dropped after they have been soaked inside andoutside in the soakingtank and have had the soaking liquid emptied outof them. A shaft 5, carrying two large sprocket-wheels 6, is journaledat one end of the tank concentric to the curved guide 2. A trackcomposed of suitable rails 7 extends upward and inwardly inclined fromthis end of the tank tangential to the sprocket-wheels and at anelevation above the tank is carried rearward parallel with the surfaceof the tank for a short distance, whereupon it inclines toward therinsingtank and forms a circular loop 8, passing again at an inclineover the tank, as at 9,

forms a loop 10 over about the middle of the tank, and passes againparallel with the upper edge of the tank until it forms a circular loop,merging into the curved guide 3. The tanks, sprocket-wheels, and tracksare in all essentials similar to those disclosed in United States.Patent to C. H. Loew, No. 700,518, dated and through. said parts may bedriven and guided in any other suitable or desired manner, and the tanksand conveyer may be constructed and arranged in any suitable mannerwhereby the conveyer may be guided through soaking liquid, be chargedwith bottles'at a suitable point, and have the bottles discharged at asuitable point An endless conveyer 11 is carried and guided around andupon the sprocket-wheels and tracks and has at its edges two endlesssprocket-chains 12, carrying rollers 13, which travel upon thetrack-rails and upon the flat bottom of the tank, which bottom at thatportion of the travel of the conveyer serves as guide or track for theconveyer. Track-rails similar to the track-rails 7 may be provided inthe tank, if desired or found necessary, by any construction of the tankdifferent from the illustrated construction. The conveyer-chains areprovided with lugs 14, to which the ends of bottle-racks 15 are secured.Said racks consist of frames formed from sheet metal pressed orotherwise shaped and joined to form frames having wide openings 16 atthe outer side and narrow openings 17 at the inner side, thus formingeach a single row of bottle openings or pockets, the large openingsbeing of a size to accommodate the bodies of the bottles and the smallopenings being of a size to accommodate the necks of the bottles and tostop the shoulders or breasts of the same. These racks are illustratedin the drawings as each consisting of two sheets of metal stamped toform each one-half of the row of bottle-pockets and joined together byriveting or other suitable means. The illustrated pockets havecylindrical body portions and tapering necks slitted in their sides; butthe detail construction of the racks is not material so long as theracks have wide openings at their outer side and narrow openings at theinner side. For the purpose of providing for even and proper balance ofthe bottle-racks the frames are secured at their ends to thefastening-lugs at the central axis of the frames and pockets orcompartments therein. Wherever the tracks are so placed and arrangedthat the large openings in the bottleracks and the bottoms of thebottles therein point downward, longitudinal retaining-slats 18 areprovided against which the bottoms of the bottles may bear and up onwhich they may ride, being thus prevented from falling out. 1 of sheetmetal stamped and united With their The only exception to thisarrai'lgement is at faces together, the frames may be formed in the loop8, where the conveyer travels around a curve and presents thebottle-racks with open bottoms and at such slant that the bottles willslide out and drop into the rinsingtank.

In practice the bottles are placed into the bottle-racks by droppingeach bottle into the large opening of a bottle-receptacle at a point ofthe conveyer at the upper sides of the sprocket-wheels. The bottles aredropped with their necks pointing inward, and the bottle-pockets havingthe large outer openings and the small lnner openings will admit of theshoulders of the bottles resting against and being stopped by the smallinner openings. The conveyer travels along the bot tom of thesoaking-tank, with the bottoms of the bottles sliding upon the bottom ofthe tank or upon guide-slats upon such bottom, toward the curved guide 3around the loop at that end and along the horizontal portion of thetrack, the bottles being inverted. As the conveyer and the bottles inthe same travel downward around the sprocket-wheels the bottles areimmersed into the soaking liquid, and the bottles are held immerseduntil they emerge at the loop and at the horizontal track portion, wherethey begin to discharge the soaking liquid which has filled them. As theconveyer passes around the loop 10 the bottles are completely withdrawnfrom the liquid and discharge the last of the liquid which they contain,whereupon they are carried down the incline until the conveyer passesaround the track-loop 8, Where the ends of the bottle-racks are exposedand the bottle-racks presented at a slant which will permit of thebottles sliding out of their pockets and dropping into the rinsing-tank.The empty conveyer then travels around the top of the frame, and eachbottle-rack is again presented at the tops of the sprocket-wheels to beagain filled and carry thebottles through the soaking solution. Bymaking the bottle-racks in the form of frames having large openings intheir outer sides and small openings in their inner sides the bottlesmay be freely dropped into thebottlepookets orreceptacles and supportedwithin the same without striking the mouths of the bottles against anabutment and thereby chipping them, as is the case in bottle-washingmachines having the bottle-racks formed with pockets or receptaclescompletely or partly closed at their inner ends. The bottles areretained in the pockets constructed in accordance with the presentinvention by their shoulders abutting against the narrow inner openings.

While the specific embodiment of the present invention as disclosed inthe drawings and description illustrates the bottle-racks as frameshaving inwardly-tapering bottle pockets or receptacles formed from twoplates a different shape and manner, the principal feature of theinvention being that the bottle-racks consist of frames, each having asin-.

gle transverse row of holes into which the bottles may be dropped, and acorresponding row of smaller holes in the rear or inner portion of theframe through which the bottlenecks may project and against which theshoulders of the bottles may abut. As the bottle-racks are carriedaround sprocketwheels and curved guides it is desirable that each framebe supported from the endless chains in such manner that it is properlybalanced, and for that reason the frames are secured to the chains andin the conveyer along their central transverse axes.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employedfor the mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regardsthe mechanism thus disclosed provided the princi les of constructionsetforth, respectively, in t e following claims are employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as ourinvention 1. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of asoaking-tank, an endless and flexible traveling bottle conveyer formedwith bottle-racks arranged transversely to said conveyer and formed withlarge openings at their outer sides for the passage of the bottle-bodiesand with smaller registering openings at their inner sides for thepassage of the bottle-necks and for support of the bot tle-breasts, andsupports and guides for the conveyer Within and outside of the tank andarranged and constructed to support and guide the conveyer to presentthe large openings of the racks to receive the bottles to be soaked, toguide the conveyer through the tank, to invert the racks to present thebottle-necks over the tank to discharge the soaking liquid into thesame, and to present the large openings of the racks outward and at anincline to discharge the bottles from. the racks.

2. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a soaking-tank, anendless and flexible traveling bottle conveyer formed with bottle-racksarranged transversely to said conveyer and formed with large open ingsat their outer sides for the passage of the bottle-bodies and Withsmaller registering openings at their inner sides for the passage of thebottle-necks and for support of the bottle-breasts, guides and supportsfor guiding the conveyer through the tank with the bottle-necks ointingin an upward direction, guides an supports for the conveyer to presentits large openings outward to receive the bottles to be soaked beforeentering the tank, guides and su ports for the conveyer arranged abovetlie tank to invert the racks to ICC present the bottle-necks toward thetank to discharge their contents as they leave the tank, and guides andsupports arranged outside of the tank to present the bottle-racksinclined with their large openings outward to discharge the emptybottles.

3. In a bottle-Washing machine, the combination of a soaking-tank, anendless traveling bottle-conveyer consisting of two endless chains andtransverse bottle-racks secured at their ends to the chains and formedwith bottle-pockets having large outer openings for the passage of thebottle-bodies and small inner openings for the passage of thebottle-necks and support of the bottle-breasts, guides and supports inthe tank for the conveyer-chains to conduct the same through the tankwith the small openings ofvthe racks pointing in an upward direction,guides and supports for the conveyer and arranged to present the largeopenings of the pockets for the recepto be our invention we havehereunto set our 3 5 hands this 21st day of November, A. D. 1903.

CHARLES H. LOEW. HENRY G. MILLER.

Witnesses:

WM. SEcHER, Q. E. JoHNsoN, Jr.

